Toyota to Add Apple CarPlay and Alexa to 2018 Cars

Some 2018 Toyotas can get Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa

Toyota is Retrofitting Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa on 2018 Camrys and Siennas

Toyota is adding Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa to its 2018 Camry and Sienna cars. Earlier this year, Toyota announced that the two features would be available on many 2019 and most 2020 vehicles, starting with the 2019 Toyota Avalon. To install Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa on 2019 Camrys and Siennas, owners will need to return to Toyota dealerships after being notified.

“We are always striving to bring highly desirable services to our vehicles. This new program enables CarPlay and Amazon Alexa on some of our most popular vehicles already on the road…It’s a great opportunity to surprise and delight our existing customers,”

said Steve Basra, Toyota Motor North America’s vice president of Connected Technologies.

Toyota to Halt Dedicated Short-Range Communications

Toyota’s announcement also said that they have paused their plans to install Dedicated Short-Range Communications on cars starting in 2021. The decision was made due to a lack of commitment from the automative industry and support from the federal government for 5.9 GHz spectrum, according to the press release.

Smart Technology in Other Cars— Is it Secure?

Toyota is not the only car company to incorporate smart home elements into their cars. Last summer, Volkswagen announced that they were investing about four billion dollars in new IoT products, including a cloud computing platform to connect customers with their cars. Given the cybersecurity issues of connected devices, some companies are making products to prevent cars from being hacked. BlackBerry, for example, has created Jarvis, a software described as a “one-of-its-kind cloud-based static binary code scanning solution that identifies vulnerabilities in software used in automobiles.” While the software has uses in many industries, including defense, aerospace, and healthcare, BlackBerry is focusing first on the auto industry. As cars becoming increasingly connected to the Internet and as the industry moves towards self-driving cars, relay attacks become an evermore relevant issue.

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Aliza is a journalist living in Brooklyn, New York. Throughout her career, her work has spanned many intersections within the tech industry. At SquareFoot, a New York-based real estate technology company, she wrote about the ways in which technology has changed the real estate industry, as well as the challenges that business owners face when they want to invest in property. At Degreed.com, an education technology website, Aliza created digital content for lifelong learners, exploring the ways in which technology has democratized education. Additionally, she has written articles for The Huffington Post as well as her own content on Medium, the online publishing platform. Aliza’s love of journalism and research stems from the excellent Journalism program at Brandeis University. At Brandeis, Aliza interned as a research assistant at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, a non-profit “news room without walls”. There, Aliza was paired with an investigative journalist and used academic databases to obtain data on everything from the suicide rates in Bhutan to local Boston court cases. Her last position was as an account executive at Yelp, educating business owners on the power of technology to increase revenue. Throughout, however, her heart remained with tech journalism, and she’s thrilled to be writing for Security Baron. When she’s not keeping afloat of the latest tech trends, Aliza likes to cook, read, and write. A former high school “Class Clown,” Aliza has completed two feature-length screenplays, a pilot, and countless comedic sketches. On her days off you can find her relaxing in Prospect Park, trying the latest flavors at Ample Hills Ice Cream, and spending time with friends and family.